


In Which Connor Builds A Bear

by Sharcade



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Cute, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, No Plot/Plotless, One Shot, Short, Short One Shot, Teddy Bears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-06 22:15:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15204602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharcade/pseuds/Sharcade
Summary: Hank takes Connor to the most magical place one can take a son.





	In Which Connor Builds A Bear

"Is it the plaza?"

"Nope."

"Is it the precinct?"

"You're not gonna guess."

"Jericho?"

"Why the hell would we be going to Jericho?"

"Well you haven't exactly given me any clues, Lieutenant."

"Yeah, cuz I don't want you to  _guess._ "

"I'm admittedly curious," Connor mused, watching out the window for any sort of signs of where Hank might be taking him. "Is it somewhere I've been before?"

"Never." Hank stated simply.

Connor had been looking forward to this for days, even though he had no idea where they were going. Hank had told him that he had a surprise for him, and that they were going to it today, and that's just about all of what Connor knew. Hank's surprises were few and far between, but they always managed to impress, so Connor was choosing to trust Hank's better judgement.

"Will I like it?"

"You're gonna fuckin' love it, kid."

The android nodded, eyeing Hank suspiciously. For a machine built specifically for detective work, he was a little embarrassed that he truly had no idea where they were headed. He was pinpointing destinations on his internal GPS, looking for anywhere they could be going, but the dots were difficult to connect. Hank was unpredictable and knew more about what Connor liked than Connor himself did. 

"Aaaaaand,  _voila._ " Hank muttered, parking the car. "Mall."

"The mall?" Connor parroted, raising an eyebrow as he eyed the massive building. "I've been to the mall before, Hank."

"It's what's  _in_ the mall, dipshit." Hank chided, stepping out of the car. "Get your ass out here."

Connor stepped out of the car quickly, following closely behind Hank as they continued inside. The setting of the mall opened up about a million other options for where they might be going, and Connor still had no clue. He looked over the storefronts, ruling out each possibility as they passed them, mapping out the mall in his head as his choices were narrowed. 

"You better not be trying to figure out the surprise, Connor."

"I'm not!" Connor yelped defensively, startled out of his analysis. "I was just- I was looking around."

"Uhuh. Sure."

"Really!"

"I bet. Just cut it out and think about somethin' else."

Connor, never the best listener by Hank's standards, did not listen. In an instant he was back to narrowing options down, fewer and fewer stores becoming a possibility until Hank finally came to a stop in front of a store Connor didn't recognize. It was painted with bright yellows, blues and reds, primary colours Connor found fairly childish in nature but endearing. The walls were lined with shelves, each one displaying clothes and objects so tiny that Connor was having trouble guessing how this store was going to be applicable to him at all.

"Connor," Hank started, gesturing widely to the storefront. "Welcome to  _motherfuckin' Build-a-Bear._ "

"Build-a-Bear?" Connor echoed in thought, tilting his head slightly.

"Come inside, c'mon." Hank coaxed, nudging Connor inside eagerly as the android's eyes roamed his surroundings. "Let me explain."

"Please."

"So you pick a bear, right?"

"Okay?"

"And you get to stuff the bear on this huge stuffing machine."

"Intriguing?"

"And you put a little stuffed heart in it. That's how it loves you."

" _Extremely intriguing?_ "

"And then you pick a sound effect and when you squeeze its little bear paw the sound plays."

"Technology is amazing."

"You pick a scent for it too."

"Wonderful."

"And then you get to dress it up however you want, this is all on my card."

"This is incredible."

"You can even pick out like, toys and furniture for it and shit."

"Lieutenant, this is literally the most amazing creation ever brought into the world by humans."

"I know. Now let's pick a goddamn  _bear._ "

"Affirmative!" Connor beamed, grabbing Hank's hand and pulling him along as he browsed his choices.

There had to be about a million different bears along the shelves. Connor couldn't help but see the situation logically: He would find the form with the most aesthetic appeal, highest durability, taking into account any statistics he deemed important. He would then test the form for textural appeal, and if it seemed to be a good match, he would proceed with the process. All of this could be taken pragmatically. 

And then he saw Happy Hugs Teddy.

Happy Hugs Teddy was nothing special, a plain beige bear with no definitive features, but it was  _perfect._ The simplest form of  _bear_ , truly classic and magnificent in all aspects that a bear may hold. Connor was in love.

"Lieutenant," he began, staring intensely at the bear before him. "This is it. This is the bear."

"Shit, grab it then kid."

Connor complied quickly, grabbing the bear from the shelves and running his thumbs along its surface.

"Soft." Connor mumbled, Hank chuckling quietly in the background. "What now?"

"Now you grab a heart for the little bastard." Hank instructed, leading Connor over to the display of colourful fabric hearts. "Again, that's how it loves you, extremely important."

"Obviously."

Connor settled on something, again, rather simple, a plain red heart. A classic heart for a classic bear. The rest of the process was exciting, Connor sampling seven different sounds before finally settling on one he liked, a standard "I love you". Hank knew he was going to be hearing the sound effect a thousand times a day as soon as they brought the damned bear home, but he didn't mind so much. Connor seemed completely overjoyed with it, and that was good enough reason for Hank to let it happen. Hank was more than pleased with the scent Connor had chosen, it being donut scent, so that was another bonus of bringing home the bear -  _Terry_ , as Connor had named it.

"Full name Terry Beary, of course." Connor explained, squeezing the bear lightly as he tested out its newly added stuffing. "He's extremely soft, Lieutenant."

"Damn right. Nothing but good words for Terry Beary, he's part of this family now."

Connor nodded quickly, patting the bear gently on the head before looking around. The store was full of so many other colourful and exciting things to explore, mostly clothes and accessories.

"Alright, should we get this bastard dressed?"

"Affirmative." Connor confirmed, looking around at the array of clothing before him

There were practically  _hundreds_ of options, organized by design and occasion and purpose, Connor almost found the decision impossible. He needed something that would accurately represent his bear. Terry was quite clearly a bold but authentic bear, one with guts but obviously with a soft side, he probably had a grizzled history that had faded into his past as he moved on with the future and calmed in his later years. It occurred to Connor that he may be putting too much detail into the backstory of his bear.

Then, he spotted it.

"Hank!" he exclaimed quickly, shoving Terry into Hank's arms as he rushed forward to grab the outfit he had spotted. "It's a police uniform!"

"Jesus fucking Christ."

"Cop bear!"

"Cop bear."

Connor had Terry dressed quickly, fixing up his tie and adjusting his cap until the bear looked absolutely perfect. Hank had been shocked at how quickly he had gotten it done, commenting that putting these bears in clothes was the bane of his entire existence as a parent for years. Connor had brushed it off, assuring Hank it wasn't too challenging of a task before proceeding towards the accessories. There had to be dozens of them, ranging from absurdly expensive bear cars to cheap sunglasses. Connor was honestly having trouble picking.

"A police officer doesn't often carry a ninja sword..." Connor mumbled to himself, perusing his options. "Or a basketball, for that matter..."

"How about this?" Hank offered, motioning to one of the select bear couches that had been placed up on the shelf. A small seat fitted for a bear or possibly even a small child. Connor paused. Possibly even a small child. Possibly.

"Pawsibly..." Connor muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Wh-"

"The seat seems like a good idea!" Connor interjected. "That way he can sit with us. Our couch would be too big for him."

"Ever thoughtful."

"Of course. Like you said, Terry is part of the family, Lieutenant."

"You never fail to fuckin' stun me, kid."


End file.
